George Axelrod admitted that the character of the movie star (who is never named) was based on Frank Sinatra, and that he had thought it would be amusing to cast his friend Walter Matthau against type for this role. Years later, he concluded that he had been mistaken in this, and that he should have gone to Sinatra himself, or perhaps Dean Martin.
George Axelrod originally wanted James Wong Howe to be the cameraman on this picture, but the management of Twentieth Century Fox insisted on his using Leon Shamroy, who was coming to the end of his long Fox contract. Axelrod was nervous of working with Shamroy, but quickly found that he was an ideal collaborator.